Method of screening anti-mycobacterial molecules

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a novel mycobacterial protein named DES, which appears to share significant amino acid sequence homology with soluble stearoyl-ACP desaturases. The results of allelic exchange experiments, indicate that the des gene may be essential to the survival of mycobacteria. These results coupled with the surface localization, the unique structure of DES, and the fact this antigen is expressed in vivo, and DES protein induces a humoral response in human patients, indicate that the DES protein provides a new target for the design of anti-mycobacterial drugs. This invention provides methods of screening molecules that can inhibit the DES enzyme activity of purified DES protein, in order to identify antibiotic molecules that are capable of inhibiting the growth or survival of mycobacteria. These methods may be practiced by using recombinant DES protein obtained from a recombinant mycobacterium host cell that was transformed with a vector containing the des gene, whose expression is controlled by regulatory or promoter sequences that function in mycobacteria. Another aspect of this invention relates to the molecules that have been identified according to the screening methods as having antibiotic activity: against mycobacteria.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application hereby claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. provisional applications Ser. No. 60/113,375, filed Nov. 4, 1998; Ser. No. 60/111,813, filed Dec. 11, 1998; and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/181,934, filed Oct. 28, 1998, which was converted to a provisional application under 37 C.F.R. § 1.53(c) (2) on Jan. 14, 1999. The entire disclosure of each of these applications is relied upon and incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tuberculosis and leprosy, caused by the bacilli from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and M. leprae, respectively, are the two major mycobacterial diseases. Other mycobacteriosis caused by a typical mycobacteria such as M. avium, M. xenopi, and M. Kansasii also represent major health problems worldwide.

M. avium is a predominant strain isolated from T.B. patients with AIDS (Horburgh et al., 1991) and M. xenopi along with M. kansasii and M. avium, is the main agent of pulmonary infections due to opportunist mycobacteria in HIV seronegative patients. (M. Picardeau et al., 1995).

In addition, these atypical mycobacteriosis are often difficult to cure because of the lack of efficient drugs specifically directed against atypical mycobacteria. Pathogenic mycobacteria have the ability to survive within host phagocytic cells. The pathology of the tuberculosis infection derives from the interactions between the host and the bacteria, resulting from the damage the host immune response causes on tissues (Andersen & Brennan, 1994). In addition, the protection of the host against mycobacteria infection also depends on interactions between the host and mycobacteria.

Identification of the bacterial antigens involved in these interactions with the immune system is essential for the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of mycobacteria and the host immunological response in relation to the evolution of the disease. It is also of great importance for the improvement of the strategies for mycobacterial disease control through vaccination and immunodiagnosis.

Through the years, various strategies have been followed for identifying mycobacterial antigens. Biochemical tools for fractionating and analyzing bacterial proteins permitted the isolation of antigenic proteins selected on their capacity to elicit B- or T-cell responses (Romain et al., 1993; Sorensen et al., 1995). The recent development of molecular genetic methods for mycobacteria (Jacobs et al., 1991; Snapper et al., 1990; Hatful, 1993; Young et al., 1985) allowed the construction of DNA expression libraries of both M. tuberculosis and M. leprae in the λt11 vector and their expression in E. coli. The screening of these recombinant libraries using murine polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies and patient sera led to the identification of numerous antigens (Braibant et al., 1994; Hermans et al., 1995; Thole & van der Zee, 1990). However, most of them turned out to belong to the group of highly conserved heat shock proteins (Thole & van der Zee, 1990; Young et al., 1990).

The observation in animal models that specific protection against tuberculosis was conferred only by administration of live BCG vaccine, suggested that mycobacterial secreted proteins might play a major role in inducing protective immunity. These proteins were shown to induce cell-mediated immune responses and protective immunity in a guinea pig or a mouse model of tuberculosis (Pal & Horwitz, 1992; Andersen, 1994; Haslov et al., 1995). Recently, a genetic methodology for the identification of exported proteins based on PhoA gene fusions was adapted to mycobacteria by (Lim et al., 1995). It permitted the isolation of M. tuberculosis DNA fragments encoding exported proteins, including the already known 19 kDa lipoprotein (Lee et al., 1992) and the ERP protein similar to the M. leprae 28 kDa antigen (Berthet et al., 1995).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have characterized a new M. tuberculosis exported protein identified by using the PhoA gene fusion methodology. The des gene, which seems conserved among mycobacterial species, encodes an antigenic protein highly recognized by human sera from both tuberculosis and leprosy patients but not by sera from tuberculous cattle. The results of allelic exchange experiments described in this application, indicate that the des gene is essential to the survival of mycobacteria.

The amino acid sequence of the DES protein contains two sets of motifs that are characteristic of the active sites of enzymes from the class II diiron-oxo protein family. Among this family, the DES protein presents significant homologies to soluble stearoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) desaturases. Three dimensional modeling demonstrates that the DES protein and the plant stearoyl-ACP desaturase share a conserved active site.

This invention also provides methods of identifying molecules capable of inhibiting the growth and/or survival of Mycobacteria species. In particular, the methods of this invention include screening molecules that can inhibit the activity of the DES protein. These methods comprise the steps of:

-   -   a) contacting the molecule with a strain of mycobacteria species         containing an active DES protein or a DES like protein or a         vector carrying an active DES protein gene or a vector         containing a polynucleotide sequence encoding the active site of         the DES protein;     -   b) measuring the inhibition of the growth of said mycobacteria         strain; and     -   c) identifying the molecule that is reacting with the DES         protein or with the active site of said protein carrying         conserved residues.

To practice the methods of this invention, the purified DES protein may be a recombinant desaturase protein. The recombinant DES protein can be obtained from a recombinant mycobacterium host cell that was transformed with an expression vector containing a polynucleotide encoding the DES protein whose expression is it controlled by regulatory sequences that function in mycobacteria. In one method of the invention, the recombinant expression vector is a plasmid derived from the pJAM2 plasmid (e.g. pJAM21). The invention also encompasses the pJAM2 and pJAM21 plasmids, as well as recombinant host cells transformed with the pJAM2 and pJAM21 plasmids. A recombinant host cell transformed with pJAM21 has been deposited at Collection Nationale de Cultures de Micro-organisms (CNCM) in Paris, France, on Jun. 23, 1998, under accession number I-2042.

Another aspect of this invention relates to molecules that have been screened according to the methods of this invention and identified as having antibiotic activity against mycobacteria.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a restriction map of the 4.5 kb EcoRV fragment encoding the M. tuberculosis des gene.

FIG. 2A is a vector map for the pJAM2 plasmid.

FIG. 2B is the nucleotide sequence of the multi-cloning site and surrounding regions of pJAM2. The Shine-Delgarno sequence (S.D.) is shown in bold type.

FIG. 3 shows a comparative sequence analysis of class II diiron-oxo proteins and the M. tuberculosis DES protein. Shaded residues indicate cluster ligands and probable iron ligands in the M. tuberculosis DES protein. Bold unshaded framed letters are probable residues involved in the network of hydrogen bonds to the cluster. Other bold letters indicate conserved residues that are believed to participate in the O₂-binding site. Gaps introduced into the sequence of DES are indicated by dots. Accession numbers are as follows.: V015555, Epstein-Barr virus ribonucleotide reductase; M58499, Methylococcus capsulatus methane mono-oxygenase hydroxylase; M60276, Pseudomonas sp. strain CF 600 phenol hydroxylase dmpN polypeptide; M59857, Ricinus communis stearoyl-ACP desaturase; and D38753, O. sativa stearoyl-ACP desaturase.

FIG. 4 is a Southern blot analysis of the distribution of the des gene in other mycobacterial species. DNA from various mycobacterial strains were PstI-digested, electrophoresed, transferred onto a nylon membrane by Southern blotting, and hybridized using probe B, which is shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows an SDS-PAGE gel of soluble and insoluble extracts from E. coli expressing the DES protein on plasmid pETdes (I-1718).

FIG. 6 shows the results of ELISAs of the sensitivity of the antibody response to the DES antigen of human tuberculous and non-tuberculous patients.

FIG. 7 shows the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis des gene. The underlined sequences correspond to the −35 and −10 boxes of the promoter and a Shine Delgarno sequence that corresponds to the putative ribosomal attachment site, respectively. The adenosine labeled “+1” corresponds to the transcription initiation site.

FIG. 8 is a table of the bacterial strains and plasmids used in this application.

FIG. 9 is a Western blot showing the recognition of the purified DES protein by antibodies from M. bovis and M. tuberculosis-infected humans and cattle.

FIG. 10 shows the inducible expression of the gene encoding the M. leprae 35 kDa protein in M. smegmatis in the presence or absence of the acetamidase inducer acetamide. Section (A) is an SDS-PAGE gel of bacterial sonicates and purified protein. Section (B) is a Western blot of a corresponding gel analyzing reactivity with the anti-M. leprae mAb CS38. Lane 1 corresponds to M. smegmatis harboring pJAM4 grown in the absence of acetamide; lane 2 corresponds to M. smegmatis harboring pJAM4 grown in the presence of acetamide; lane 3 corresponds to purified M. leprae 35 kDa protein.

FIG. 11 is actable representing the quantification of the M. leprae protein produced in recombinant M. smegmatis in the presence or absence of the acetamidase inducer acetamide. Results are expressed as the mean value±SEM of three experiments. Suc: is an abbreviation for succinate; Suc/Act: is an abbreviation succinate plus acetamide.

FIG. 12 is a graph representing the recognition of the recombinant M. leprae 35 kDa protein by lepromatous leprosy sera. In the legend, M. smg 35 kDa: represents M. smegmatis-derived 35 kDa protein; M. smg 35 kDa-HIS: represents M. smegmatis-derived, histidine-tagged 35 kDa protein; and E. coli 35 kDa: represents E. coli-derived 35 kDa protein.

FIG. 13 is a Western blot showing induction of the gene encoding the M. tuberculosis DES antigen in M. smegmatis using the pJAM2 expression system. Ten μg of cell sonicate from bacteria grown in the absence (−) or presence (+) of acetamide were added to each lane and the transferred gel was immunoblotted with anti-DES murine polyclonal antibody. WT represents wild-type M. smegmatis mc² 155; and MYC1553 represents M. smegmatis harboring pJAM21. Sonicates from two transformants are shown. The location of the DES antigen is indicated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Using the Pho A gene fusion methodology, we identified a new 37 kDa Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein, designated DES. This 37 kDa exported protein contains conserved amino acid residues which are characteristic of class II diiron-oxoproteins.

Proteins from that family are all enzymes that require iron for activity. They include ribonucleotide reductases, hydrocarbon hydroxylases and stearoyl-ACP desaturases. The M. tuberculosis DES protein only presents significant homologies to plant stearoyl-ACP desaturases (44% identity at the nucleotide level, and 30% identity at the amino-acid level), which are exported enzymes as they are translocated across the chloroplastic membranes (Keegstra & Olsten, 1989).

Three-dimensional modeling of the DES protein based on homology with the Ricinus communis Δ9 stearoyl-ACP indicates that the DES protein shares significant structural features with the plant stearoyl-ACP desaturases. Most importantly, the active site of the DES protein and the plant Δ9 stearoyl-ACP desaturase are conserved, suggesting that DES is evolutionarily related to the plant desaturases.

The plant stearoyl-ACP desaturase can be used for the screening and the selection of new compounds inhibiting the activity of the enzyme and consequently then tested for the modulation of the properties of DES protein in vivo in a mycobacterial strain, such as M. tuberculosis or in vitro on a purified DES protein. This result suggests that the DES protein could be involved in the mycobacterial fatty acid biosynthesis.

Furthermore, the localization of the protein outside the cytoplasm would be consistent with its role in the lipid metabolism, since lipids represent 60% of the cell wall constituents and that part of the biosynthesis of the voluminous mycolic acids containing 60 to 90 carbon atoms occurs outside the cytoplasm. Among all the different steps of the lipid metabolism, desaturation reactions are of special interest, first because they very often take place at early steps of lipid biosynthesis and secondly because, through the control they have on the unsaturation rate of membranes, they contribute to the adaptation of mycobacteria to their environment (Wheeler & Ratledge, 1994). An enzyme system involving a stearoyl-Coenzyme A desaturase (analog of the plant stearoyl-ACP-desaturases), catalyzing oxydative desaturation of the CoA derivatives of stearic and palmitic acid to the corresponding Δ9 monounsaturated fatty acids has been biochemically characterized in Mycobacterium phlei (Fulco & Bloch, 1962; Fulco & Bloch, 1964; Kashiwabara et al., 1975; Kashiwabara & Sato, 1973). This system was shown to be firmly bound to a membranous structure (Fulco & Bloch, 1964).

Thus, M. tuberculosis stearoyl-Coenzyme A desaturase (Δ9desaturase) is expected to be an exported protein.

Sonicated extracts of E. coli expressing the DES protein were assayed for Δ9 desaturating activity according to the method described by (Legrand and Bensadoun, 1991), using (stearoyl-CoA) ¹⁴C as a substrate. However, no Δ9 desaturating activity could be detected. This result is probably linked to the fact that desaturation systems are multi-enzyme complexes involving electron transport chains and numerous cofactors, often difficult to render functional in vitro. Since E. coli and mycobacteria are very different from a lipid metabolism point of view, in E. coli, the M. tuberculosis recombinant Δ9 desaturase might not dispose of all the cofactors and associated enzymes required for activity or might not interact properly with them. Moreover, not all cofactors involved in the Δ9 desaturation process of mycobacteria are known, and they might be missing in the incubation medium.

However, if the DES protein encodes a Δ9 desaturase, an interesting point concerns its primary sequence. Indeed, all animal, fungal, and the only two bacterial Δ9 desaturases sequenced to date (Sakamoto et al., 1994) are integral membrane proteins which have been classified into a third class of diiron-oxo proteins on the basis of their primary sequences involving conserved histidine residues (Shanklin et al., 1994). The plant soluble Δ9 desaturases are the only desaturases to possess the type of primary sequence of class II diiron-oxo proteins (Shanklin & Somerville, 1991). No bacteria have yet been found which have a plant type Δ9 desaturase.

As shown by immunoblotting and ELISA experiments, the DES protein is a highly immunogenic antigen which elicits a B-cell response in 100% of the tuberculosis M. bovis or M. tuberculosis-infected human patients tested, independently of the form of the disease (extrapulmonary or pulmonary). It also elicits an antibody response in lepromatous leprosy patients. Interestingly, although more sera would need to betested, tuberculous cattle do not seem to recognize the DES antigen. Furthermore, the ELISA experiments showed that it is possible to distinguish tuberculosis patients from patients suffering from other pathologies on the basis of the sensitivity of their antibody response to the DES antigen. The DES antigen is therefore a good candidate to be used for serodiagnosis of tuberculosis in human patients. Non-tuberculous patients may recognize the DES protein at a low level because they are all, BCG-vaccinated individuals (BCG expressing the protein), or because of cross-reactivity of their antibody response with other bacterial antigens. It would now be interesting to know whether the DES antigen possesses in addition to its B-cell epitopes, T-cell epitopes, which are the only protective epitopes in the host immunological response against pathogenic mycobacteria. If the DES protein is also a good stimulator of the T-cell response in a majority of tuberculosis patients, it could be used either individually or as part of a cocktail of antigens in the design of a subunit vaccine against tuberculosis.

To gain insights into the precise function of thisatypical bacterial enzyme, we attempted to interrupt the des gene in the vaccine strain M. bovis BCG by allelic exchange. In a first experiment, no allelic exchange mutants were obtained, suggesting that the des gene is essential to the viability of mycobacteria.

To investigate this hypothesis, the first experiment was repeated using a M. bovis BCG strain transformed with a second wild-type copy of the des gene. Using this transformed M. bovis BCG strain, we obtained allelic exchange mutants, in which a wild-type copy of the des gene was replaced by an inactivated copy of the des gene. Thus, allelic exchange was only possible if a second copy of the wild-type des gene had been inserted into the M. bovis BCG chromosome. This result strongly suggests that des is an essential gene in mycobacteria from the M. tuberculosis complex.

Coupled with the localization of DES at the surface of the tubercle bacilli, and its structural originality (this enzyme's structure differs from all the mammalian and bacterial desaturase structures identified to date), the results of these experiments suggest that the DES protein could be a target for designing new anti-mycobacterial drugs.

Fundamental to the analysis of the biological function and immunological relevance of mycobacterial proteins is their production in a recombinant form that resembles that of their native counterpart. Recent studies analyzing both structure (Garbe et al., 1993; Triccas et al., 1996) and immunogenicity (Garbe et al., 1993; Roche et al., 1996; Triccas et al., 1996) of recombinant proteins obtained from fast growing mycobacterial hosts, such as Mycobacterium smegmatis, have demonstrated superiority over the same protein purified from E. coli expression systems. Although such approaches for the production of recombinant mycobacterial proteins appear advantageous, two major obstacles lie in the way of further improvement to these systems. The first is the inability to regulate high-level expression of foreign genes in M. smegmatis, analogous to systems such as induction of the lac promoter in E. coli (de Boer et al., 1983). Secondly, no simple, efficient and widely adaptable method for the purification of proteins from recombinant mycobacteria has been described.

In this application, we attempt to resolve these two problems. First, we describe the construction of a vector, pJAM2, that utilizes the promoter of the inducible acetamidase enzyme of M. smegmatis to drive high-level expression of foreign genesin M. smegmatis. The 47 kDa acetamidase enzyme of M. smegmatis NCTC 8159 permits the growth of the organism on simple amides as the sole carbon source and is highly inducible in the presence of acetamide (Mahenthiralingam et al., 1993). This property has been previously used to assess luciferase as a reporter of gene expression in mycobacteria (Gordon et al., 1994) and to develop a mycobacterial-conditional antisense mutagenesis system (Parish et al., 1997b). In this study, we constructed a vector that allows for regulated high-level expression of foreign genes in mycobacteria by virtue of the M. smegmatis acetamidase promoter.

Recombinant M. leprae 35 kDa antigen produced in this system represented approximately 8.6% of the total M. smegmatis soluble protein, with the amount of protein produced greater than that when the same gene is placed under the control of the strong mutated β-lactamase promoter of M. fortuitum (FIG. 3).

Secondly, we demonstrate the simple and efficient purification of the encoded antigens by use of a poly-histidine tag and one step Ni⁺⁺ affinity chromatography. The addition of the histidine tag did not appear to affect the conformation or immunogenicity of the recombinant protein, suggesting the system described may be extremely useful for the purification of structurally and immunologically intact recombinant mycobacterial proteins from fast-growing mycobacterial hosts.

The ability to produce recombinant products in a form that closely resembles their native state is important in the study of microbial antigens and enzymes. Recent studies have highlighted the superiority of recombinant protein purified from mycobacterial hosts compared to E. coli-derived products, as assessed by structural and immunological analysis (Garbe et al., 1993; Roche et al., 1996; Triccas et al., 1996). Previously we have demonstrated that sera from leprosy patients would only recognize the M. leprae 35 kDa. protein if the antigen was produced in a form that resembles the native protein, based on the binding of conformational dependent mAbs and FPLC size exclusion analysis (Triccas et al., 1996). We reconfirm such a finding with protein produced using the acetamidase promoter expression system (FIG. 12). Furthermore, the addition of 6 histidine residues to the C-terminus of the recombinant protein does not appear to affect its conformation, as there is little difference in the recognition of leprosy sera by histidine-tagged and nonhistidine-tagged 35 kDa protein (FIG. 12). The efficient expression of the 6-histidine tag in mycobacteria and the simple and effective purification of our model protein by Ni—NTA affinity chromatography (FIG. 10) suggest that this versatile purification system, used successfully in a number of eucaryotic and procaryotic expression systems (Crowe et al., 1994), could be more widely applied to mycobacterial proteins. Furthermore, the histidine purification system overcomes the problems involved with antibody affinity chromatography used in a number of studies to purify recombinant mycobacterial proteins (Roche et al., 1996; Triccas et al., 1996), such as the unavailability of appropriate antibodies or the presence of homologues capable of binding the antibody. Together, these results suggest an application for the pJAM2 expression vector in the production of native-like recombinant mycobacterial proteins that can be exploited to correctly analyze protein function and antigenicity.

The invention will be further clarified by the following examples, which are intended to be purely exemplary of the invention.

EXAMPLES

Bacteria, Media and Growth Conditions

The bacterial strains and plasmids used in this study are listed in FIG. 8. E. coli DH5a or BL21 (DE3) pLysS cultures were routinely grown in Luria B medium (Difco) at 37° C. Mycobacterium cultures were grown in Middlebrook 7H9 medium (Difco) supplemented with Tween 0.05%, glycerol (0.2%) and ADC (glucose, 0.2%; BSA fraction V, 0.5%; and NaCl, 0.085%) at 37° C. When required, antibiotics were added at the following concentrations: ampicillin (100 μg/ml)., kanamycin (20 μg/ml).

Human and Cattle Sera

Serum specimens from 20 individuals with pulmonary or extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis infected) were obtained from the Bligny sanatorium (France). Six sera from M. bovis infected human tuberculous patients and 24 sera from BCG-vaccinated patients suffering from other pathologies were respectively obtained from Institut Pasteur, (Madagascar), and the Centre de Biologie Medicale specialisee (CBMS) (Institut Pasteur, Paris). Sera from tuberculous cattle (M. bovis infected) were obtained from CNEVA, (Maison Alfort).

Subcloning Procedures

Restriction enzymes and T4 DNA ligase were purchased from Gibco/BRL, Boehringer Mannheim and New England Biolabs. All enzymes were used in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. A 1-kb ladder of DNA molecular mass markers was from Gibco/BRL. DNA fragments used in the cloning procedures were gel purified using the Geneclean II kit (BIO 101 Inc., La Jolla, Calif.). Cosmids and plasmids were isolated by alkaline lysis (Sambrook et al., 1989). Bacterial strains were transformed by electroporation using the Gene Pulser unit (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Richmond, Calif.).

Southern blot analysis and colony hybridization DNA-fragments for radiolabeling were separated on 0.7% agarose gels (Gibco BRL) in a Tris-borate-EDTA buffer system (Sambrook et al., 1989) and isolated from the gel by using Geneclean II (BIO 101). Radiolabeling was carried out with the random primed labeling kit Megaprime (Amersham) with 5 μCi of (α⁻³²P)dCTP, and unincorporated label was removed by passing through a Nick Column (Pharmacia). Southern blotting was carried out in 0.4 M NaOH with nylon membranes (Hybond-N+, Amersham) according to the Southern technique (Southern, 1975), prehybridization and Shybridization was carried out as recommended by the manufacturer using RHB buffer (Amersham). Washing at 65° C. was as follows: two washes with 2×SSPE (150 mM NaCl, 8.8 mM NaH₂PO₄, 1 mM EDTA pH 7.4) -SDS 0.1% of 15 minutes each, one wash with 1×SSPE-SES 0.1% for 10 minutes, two washes with 0.7×SSPE-SDS 0.1% of 15 minutes each. Autoradiographs were prepared by exposure with X-ray film (Kodak X-OMAT) at −80° C. overnight. Colony hybridization was carried out using nylon membrane disc (Hybond-N+ 0.45 μm, Amersham). E. coli colonies adsorbed on the membranes were lysed in a (0.5M NaOH, 1.5M NaCl) solution, before being placed for one minute in a microwave oven to fix the DNA. Hybridization and washes were described for the Southern blotting analysis.

DNA Sequencing and Analysis

Sequences of double-stranded plasmid DNA were determined by the dideoxy-chain termination method (Sanger et al., 1977) using the Taq Dye. Deoxy Terminator Cycle sequencing Kit (Applied Biosystems), on a GeneAmp PCR System 9600 (Perkin Elmer), and run on a DNA Analysis System-Model 373 stretch (Applied Biosystems). The sequence was assembled and processed using DNA strider (CEA, France) and the University of Wisconsin Genetics Computer Group *UWGCG) packages. The BLAST algorithm (Altschul et al., 1990) was used to search protein data bases for similarity.

Expression and Purification of the DES Protein in E. coli

A 1043 bp NdeI-BamHI fragment of the des gene was amplified by PCR using nucleotides JD8:

(5′-CGGCATATGTCAGCCAAGCTGACCGACCTGCAG-3′) (SEQ ID. NO:1), and JD9: (5′CCGGGATCCCGCGCTCGCCGCTCTGCATCGTCG-3′)(SEQ ID NO:2), and cloned into the NdeI-BamHI sites of pET14b (Novagen) to generate pET-des. PCR amplifications were carried out in a DNA thermal Cycler (Perkin Elmer), using Taq polymerase (Cetus) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. PCR consisted of one cycle of denaturation (95° C., 6 min) followed by 25 cycles of amplification consisting of denaturation (95° C., 1 min), annealing (57° C., 1 min), and primer extension (72° C., 1 min). In the pET-des vector, the expression of the des gene is under control of the T7 bacteriophage promoter and the DES antigen is expressed as a fusion protein containing six histidine residues. Expression of the des gene was induced by addition of 0.4 mM IPTG in the culture medium. The DES protein was purified by using a nickel-chelate affinity resin according to the recommendations of the supplier (Qiagen, Chatsworth, Calif.)

SDS-PAGE and Immunoblotting

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was carried out as described by (Laemmli, 1970). For Western blotting experiments (immunoblotting), approximately 10 μg of DES purified protein were run on a SDS-polyacrylamide gel and transferred on nitrocellulose membranes (Hybond C extra, Amersham) using a Bio-Rad mini transblot apparatus according to the recommendations of the manufacturer (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Richmond, Calif). Transfer yield was visualized by transient staining with Ponceau Rouge. The membrane were incubated with human patient or cattle sera diluted 1/200 at 37° C. for 1 hour. and with a goat anti-human (Promega) or rabbit anti-cattle (Biosys) IgG alkaline phosphatase-conjugated secondary antibody diluted 1/2500′ for 30 minutes at 37° C. The color reaction was performed by addition of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolylphosphate (0.165 mg/ml) and toluidinum nitroblue tetrazolium (0.33 mg/ml) as substrates.

ELISA

The human or cattle sera were tested for antibodies against DES by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The 96-well micro-titer trays (Nunc, Rochester, N.Y.) were coated with 0.1 μg (per well) of purified DES protein in guanidine hydrochloride buffer A (6 M guanidine hydrochloride, 0.1 M NaH₂PO₄, 0.01 M Tris, pH 8) (1 h at 37° C. and 16 h at 4° C). After three washes, wells were saturated with bovine serum albumin 3% in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 30 min. at room temperature. After three washes, sera diluted from 1/500 to 1/32000 in buffer (PBS, 0.1% Tween 20, 1% bovine serum albumin) were added to the wells for 2 h at 37° C. After three washes, the wells were treated with goat anti-human IgG-alkaline phosphatase conjugate (Promega, Madison, Wis.) diluted 1/4000° for 1 h at 37° C. Then, 4 mg of p-nitrophenylphospate per ml were added as substrate. After 20 minutes of incubation at 37° C., the plates were read photometrically at an optical density of 405 nm in micro-ELISA Autoreader (Dynatech, Mames la Coquette, France)

Statistics

Antibody responses of the different sera tested were compared by using the Student t test. P≧20.05 was considered nonsignificant.

Nucleotide Sequence and Accession Number

The nucleotide sequences of des has been deposited in the Genome Sequence Data Base (GSDB) under the accession number U49839.

Cloning of the Des Gene

The construction of a fusion library of M. tuberculosis genomic DNA to the phoA gene and its expression in M. smegmatis, described by (Lim et al., 1995), led to the isolation of several PhoA⁺ clones. pExp421 is the plasmid harbored by one of the PhoA⁺ clones selected from this library. Detection of enzymatically active alkaline phosphatase indicated that the pExp421 insert contains functional expression and exportation signals. Restriction analysis showed that pExp421 carries a 1.1 kb insert. Partial determination of its sequence identified a 577 bp ORF, named des, fused in frame to the phoA gene and presenting two motifs, of 9 and 14 amino acids, conserved with soluble stearoyl-acyl-carrier protein desaturases (Lim et al., 1995).

To isolate the full-length des gene, the M. tuberculosis H37Rv pYUB18 genomic cosmid library (Jacobs et al., 1991), was screened by colony hybridization with the 1.1 kb probe (probe A, see FIG. 1). Two hybridizing cosmids named C₃ and C₄ were selected for further isolation of the gene. C₃ and C₄ were cut with several restriction enzymes and subjected to Southern blot analysis using the 1.1 kb fragment as a probe.

The EcoRV restriction profile revealed a single hybridizing fragment of 4.5 kb which was subcloned into pBluescript KS-(Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) to give plasmid pDS-des.

Characterization of the Des Gene

The DNA sequence of the full des ORF was determined (FIG. 7). The des gene was shown to cover a 1017 bp region, encoding a 339 amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 37 kDa. The ORF starts with a potential ATG start codon at position 549, and ends with a TAG stop codon at position 1565. There is a potential Shine-Delgarno motif (GGAGG) at position −8 upstream of the ATG. The G+C content of the ORF (62%) is consistent with the global GC content observed in the mycobacterial genome. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the des gene were compared to sequences in databases. They showed very high homologies to the M. leprae aadx gene located on cosmid B2266, deposited in GenBank as part of the M. leprae genome sequencing project (GenBank accession number n°. U15182). Within the coding region, the DNA sequences were 79% identical while the encoded proteins were 80% identical (88% including conserved residues). The des gene also scored significantly against soluble stearoyl-ACP desaturases: 44% identity at the nucleotide level, 30% identity (51% including conserved residues) at the amino acid level, to the Oryza saliva stearoyl-ACP desaturase (accession n°. D38753).

Although the detection of phoA enzymatic activity in the M. smegmatis clone harboring the pEXp421 suggests the DES protein is exported, no structural similarities were found between the DES protein N terminal amino acids and signal sequences of bacterial exported proteins (Izard & Kendall, 1994).

As in the M. leprae genome, a second ORF presenting high homologies of the M. leprae putative NtrB gene (cosmid B2266), is located downstream of the des gene in M. tuberculosis. Interestingly, the two ORF, des and Ntrb, are separated in M. tuberculosis by two direct repeats of 66 nucleotides overlapping on 9 nucleotides (FIG. 2).

The DES protein presents the conserved amino acid motifs of the class II diiron-oxo proteins

Further analysis of the amino acid sequence of the DES protein revealed the presence of conserved motifs found only in class II diiron-oxo proteins (Fox et al., 1994) (FIG. 3). These proteins are oxo-bridged diiron clusters (Fe—O—Fe) containing proteins. They possess in their secondary structure 4 alpha helices involved in the protein-derived cluster ligands. As revealed by X-ray structure studies, in these proteins, the diiron axis is oriented parallel to the long axis of the four helix bundle with ligands arising from four noncontiguous helices, B, C, E and F. M. tuberculosis DES protein appears to have the same active site residues as the class II diiron-oxo enzymes. This includes Glu and His residues (E₁₀₇ and H₁₁₀ in helix C, E₁₆₇ in helix E and E₁₉₇ and H₂₀₀ in helix F) that are ligands to the iron atoms, Asp, Glu and Arg residues (E₁₀₆ and R₁₀₉ in helix C, D₁₉₆ in helix F) that are involved in a hydrogen-bonding network to the cluster and, Ile and Thr residues that may be part of the O₂-binding site (T₁₇₀ in helix E, I₁₉₃ in helix F) Thus, the M. tuberculosis DES protein contains in its primary sequence a conserved EEXXH (SEQ ID NO:3) motif and a conserved DEXXH (SEQ ID NO:4) motif, where X represents any amino acid. The conserved motifs are separated by 85 amino acids.

The class II diiron-oxo protein family contains up to date ribonucleotide reductases, hydrocarbon hydroxylases (methane mono-oxygenase, toluene-4-mono-oxygenase and phenol hydroxylase) and soluble-ACP desaturases. On the overall sequence alignment the DES protein presents higher homology to soluble stearoyl-ACP desaturases than to ribonucleotide reductases or bacterial hydroxylases. The percentage identity at the amino acid level of the DES protein was said to be 30% with the Oryza sativa stearoyl-ACP desaturases, whereas it is only 17% with the Methylococcus capsulatus methane mono-oxygenase (accession n°. M60276) and 17.7% with the Epstein Barr ribonucleotide reductase (accession na. V01555). Homologies to the soluble Δ9 desaturases mostly concern the amino acids located within the active site in helices C, E, and F (FIG. 3).

The method according to the invention can be carried out for the screening and selection of molecules interacting with the enzymatic activity of DES protein, for example, for acyl-ACP desaturase normally produced by higher plants.

The DES protein shares structural features with the plant acyl-ACP desaturases

The three-dimensional structure of the DES protein was modeled based on homology with the Ricinus communis Δ9 stearoyl-ACP desaturase. The structure of this plant desaturase was determined by protein crystallography to 2.4 Å resolution (Lindqvist et al., 1996). The model obtained has no Ramachandran outliers, has an excellent stereochemistry for both main chain and side chains and has no bad contacts.

302 residues out of the 337 total residues of the M. tuberculosis enzyme could be built based on the template's structure and aligned with an r.m.s. of 0.34 Å for their Cα atoms. These 302 DES residues share 26% sequence identity with the residues of plant Δ9 stearoyl-ACP desaturase. Thus, the structures of these 302 residues in the model represent a good approximation of their true structure.

The plant Δ9 stearoyl-ACP desaturase and DES protein share almost complete sequence identity in the areas encoding the four helices, which include the ligands for the bi-nuclear iron center, as well as in the surrounding areas and in the area around the catalytic site. Therefore, one can be confident with the structure of the residues located within these areas that share substantial amino acid identity. (FIG. 3 a and 3 b) These areas include the part of the fatty acid binding site which is close to the active site. From the structure of the Δ9 stearoyl-ACP desaturase it was concluded that the fatty acid part of the substrate is completely buried in the enzyme, in a deep hydrophobic channel, positioning the site of desaturation between carbon 9 and 10 in the area of the active site close to the binuclear iron center. (Lindqvist et al., 1996). The shape of the channel forces the substrate to bind in a confirmation close to the product's cis-configuration. From amino acid sequence comparisons of plant desaturases it was further concluded that the size of the amino acid side chains at the bottom of this channel determines the chain length beyond the point of double bond insertion that can be accepted by the various plant enzymes. (Cahoon et al., 1997). In the DES protein, the active site is completely conserved, suggesting that DES is evolutionarily related to the plant desaturases. If DES catalyzes a desaturation reaction, judging from the conserved shape of the substrate's pocket, the product of the enzymatic reaction would have a cis-configuration around the introduced double bond.

Inspection of the bottom of the substrate channel in the model of the DES protein shows that the exchange of threonine T181 in the plant Δ9 stearoyl-ACP desaturase for the bulkier glutamine in DES (Q145) has shortened the pocket significantly. This implies that the substrate in DES would have a maximum of seven carbons beyond the point of double bond insertion as compared to nine carbons in the plant stearoyl-ACP desaturase. Also, the replacement of methionine M114 in the plant enzyme by a negatively charged glutamic acid in DES (E85) could indicate that the substrate for the Des protein carries a polar or even positively charged group that can interact with this sidechain. Alternatively, the polarity could make it difficult for hydrophobic fatty acid tails to reach the bottom of the already shorter cavity, thereby further limiting the number of possible carbons beyond the point of doublebond insertion (e.g., to five carbons). Other amino-acid substitutions in the binding cleft do not affect the nature, shape and size of the substrate's binding cavity.

The electrostatic potential surface of the Δ9 stearoyl-ACP desaturase and of the DES protein around the entrance of the substrate's binding channel are very different. This difference indicates that the DES protein and the plant Δ9 stearoyl-ACP desaturase may require different associated cofactors for activity and, in particular, different forms of fatty acid substrates.

Distribution of the Des Gene in Other Mycobacterial Species

The presence of the des gene in PstI-digested chromosomal DNA from various mycobacterial strains was analyzed by Southern blotting (FIG. 4). The probe used (probe B) is a PCR amplification product corresponding to nucleotides 572 to 1589 (see FIG. 1). The probe hybridized on all mycobacterial genomic DNA tested. Strong signals were detected in M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, M. Africanum and M. avium. Weaker signals were visible in M. microti, M. xenopi, M. fortuitum and M. smegmatis. Thus, the des gene seems to be present in single copy at least in the slow growing M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, M. africanuum, M. avium and M. xenopi as well as in the fast growing M. smegmatis.

Expression of the Des Gene in E. coli

In order to over express the DES protein, the des gene was subcloned into the bacteriophage T7 promoter-based expression vector pET14b (Novagen). A PCR amplification product of the des gene (see material and methods) was cloned into the NdeI-BamHI sites of the vector, leading to the plasmid pET-des. Upon IPTG induction of E. Coli BL21 DE3 pLysS cells harboring the plasmid pET-des, a protein of about 40 kDa was overproduced. The 40 kDa size of the overproduced protein corresponds with the molecular mass calculated from the deduced polypeptide. As shown in FIG. 5, the great majority of the overproduced DES protein is present in the insoluble matter of E. coli cells. This probably results from the precipitation of the over-concentrated protein in E. coli cytoplasm resulting in the formation of inclusion bodies. To be able to dissolve the protein, the purification was carried out using a nickel chelate affinity resin under denaturing conditions in guanidine hydrochloride buffers. Among all the conditions tested (pH, detergents, etc.), the only condition in which the protein could be eluted without precipitating in the column and remain soluble, was in a buffer containing 6 M guanidine hydrochloride.

Immunogenicity of the DES Protein After Infection

Twenty serum samples from M. tuberculosis infected human patients (4 with extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, 15 with pulmonary tuberculosis and 1 with both forms of the disease), 6 sera from M. bovis infected human patients and 4 sera from M. bovis infected cattle were tested either pooled or taken individually in immunoblot experiments to determine the frequency of recognition of the purified DES protein by antibodies from infected humans or cattle. 20 out of the 20 sera from the M. tuberculosis infected human patients and 6 out of the 6 sera from the M. bovis infected human patients recognized the recombinant antigen as shown by the reaction with the 37 kDa band, (FIG. 9). Furthermore, a pool of sera from human lepromatous leprosy patients also reacted against the DES antigen.

In contrast, the pool of serum specimens from M. bovis infected cattle did not recognize the DES protein. These results indicate that the DES protein is highly immunogenic in tuberculosis human patients. Both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis patients recognize the antigen.

Magnitude of Human Patients' Antibody Responses

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to compare the sensitivity of the different serum samples from 20 tuberculosis patients (15 infected by M. tuberculosis and 5 infected by M. Bovis) to the DES antigen. This technique was also carried out to compare the sensitivity of the antibody response to DES of the 20 tuberculosis patients to the antibody response of 24 patients (BCG-vaccinated) suffering from other pathologies. As shown in FIG. 6, patients suffering from pathologies other than tuberculosis, react at low level to the DES antigen (average OD₄₀₅=0.17 for a serum dilution 1/1004) The average antibody response from the tuberculosis patients infected by M. tuberculosis or M. bovis against the same antigen is much more sensitive (OD₄₀₅=0.32 and OD₄₀₅=0.36 respectively, for a serum dilution 1/1004). This difference in the sensitivity of the immunological response is statistically highly significant at every dilution from 1/50^(a) to 1/3200^(a) as shown by a Student I₉₅ test (I₉₅=5.18, 6.57, 6.16, 5.79, 4.43, 2.53 and 1.95, at sera dilutions 1/50^(a), 1/100¹, 1/200^(a), 1/400^(a), 1/800^(a), 1/600^(a) and 1/3200^(a), respectively). No differences in the sensitivity of the antibody response was noticed between patients suffering from pulmonary or extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.

Allelic Exchange of Des Gene

We constructed an inactivated copy of the des gene by inserting into the XhoI site of the ApaI/SacI restriction fragment carrying the des gene (Jackson et al., 1997), a kanamycin (Km) resistance cassette. This (des:Km) construct was then inserted, along with the XylE gene, which encodes the Pseudomonas catechol dioxygenase conferring upon mycobacteria a yellow color when sprayed with catechol (Pelicic et al., 1997), into the pJQ200 plasmid, a pBluescript-derived E. coli vector carrying the sacb gene. The resulting vector was called pJQdKX.

In a first experiment, we transformed M. bovis BCG with pJQdKX and tried to select mutants resulting from allelic exchange events inside the des locus by using a two step procedure such as the one described by (Pelicic et al., 1996) In the first step, we selected, on kanamycin-containing medium, a transformant that has integrated the whole vector inside its chromosome by a single crossing-over within the des locus. In the second step, using the counter-selection properties of the sacB gene, we selected bacteria that have undergone a second intrachromosomal crossing-over, resulting in the replacement of the wild type copy of the des gene by its inactivated copy (des:Km), i.e., allelic exchange mutants.

Although at the first step of the procedure, 100% of the transformants resulted from the integration of the pJQdKX vector by a single homologous recombination event, no allelic exchange mutants were obtained after the second selection step. 99.53% of the (Km, Sucrose) resistant colonies obtained at the end of the selection procedure were XylE+, indicating that they still carried the vector in their chromosome and probably also carried mutations in the sacB gene resulting in their sucrose-resistant phenotype. The 0.47% XylE-remaining colonies possibly carried mutations in both the sacb and the XylE genes since genetic analysis (genomic hybridization, PCR) indicated they were not des-allelic exchange mutants. This result suggests that the des gene might be essential to M. bovis BCG.

In order to investigate this hypothesis, we performed a second experiment in which we inserted, using an integrative vector pAV6950 (Moniz-Pereira et al., 1995), a second wild type copy of the des gene (carried on a ApaI-SacI restriction fragment; see above) in the chromosome of a M. bovis BCG transformant resulting from the first selection step described above. The resulting M. bovis BCG thus contained two wild type copies of the des gene in addition to the (des:Km) copy carried by the inserted pJQdKX vector. When the second selection step was applied on a culture of this bacteria, 34% of the (Km-sucrose)-resistant colonies obtained were XylE-. Genetic analysis of these candidates revealed that all of them corresponded to allelic exchange mutants. The other 66% (Km-sucrose)-resistant and XylE+ colonies probably carried mutations in the sacB gene.

Construction of the Acetamidase Promoter Expression Vector pJAM2

The acetamidase promoter region was amplified from plasmid PAMI1, which contains the M. smegmatis NCTC 9449 inducible acetamidase gene and upstream region (Mahenthiralingam et al., 1993), by use of primers HIS5:

(CACGGTACCAAGCTTTCTAGCAGA) (SEQ ID NO:38), and HIS7: (GTCAGTGGTGGTGGTGGTGGTGTCTAGAAGTACTGGATCCGAAAACTACCTCG) (SEQ ID NO:39). The resulting 1.6 kb fragment was cloned into plasmid pJEM12 (Timm et al., 1994b) to give plasmid pJAM2 (FIG. 2A). The coding region of the M. leprae 35 kDa protein was amplified by primers JN8: (TAGCTGCAGGGATCCATGACGTCGGCT) (SEQ ID NO:40), and 35REV2 (GTGTCTAGACTTGTACTCATG) (SEQ ID NO:41), and cloned into the BamHI/XbaI sites of pJAM2, yielding pJAM4. The gene encoding the M. tuberculosis DES antigen was amplified by primers JD17: (GGGTCTAGAACGACGGCTCATCGCCAGTTTGCC) (SEQ ID NO:42), and JD18: (CCCGGATCCATGTCAGCCAAGCTGACCGACCTG) (SEQ ID NO.:43) and also cloned into the BamHI/XbaI sites of pJAM2 to give plasmid pJAM21.

Expression and Purification of Recombinant Histidine-tagged Protein from M. smegmatis

Plasmids pJAM4 and pJAM21 were introduced into M. smegmatis mc²155 and kanamycin resistant colonies grown in M63 medium [7.6×10⁻²M (NH4)₂SO₄, 0.5M KH₂PO₄, 5.8×10⁻⁶M FeSO₄.7H₂O, pH 7] supplemented with 2% succinate (Sigma Chemical Co., St Louis, Mo.) for uninduced cultures or 2% succinate and acetamide (Sigma) for induced cultures. Bacteria were grown for 3 days, after which cells were harvested and sonicated 4 times for 1 minute. Sonicates were analyzed for expression of recombinant proteins by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting with the anti-35 kDa monoclonal antibody (mAb) CS38 for the M. leprae 35 kDa protein (CS38 supplied by Professor Patrick Brennan, Colorado State University, Colorado) or for the M. tuberculosis DES antigen using an anti-DES murine-derived polyclonal antibody. For protein purification, the sonicates were applied to Ni—NTA resin (Qiagen Inc., CA) and bound protein was washed consecutively with 5 mM, 20 mM and 40 mM imidazole (Sigma) in sonication buffer (1×PBS, 5% glycerol, 0.5 M NaCl and 5 mM MgCl₂). Protein was eluted with 200 mM imidazole in sonication buffer and dialyzed against PBS. Nonhistidine-tagged M. leprae 35 kDa protein derived from M. smegmatis and the E. coli 35 kDa 6-histidine fusion protein were purified as described previously (Triccas et al., 1996).

Protein Capture ELISA

ELISA plates were coated with the murine anti-M. leprae 35 kDa mAb ML03 (50 mg/ml; supplied by Professor J. Ivanyi, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK) and mycobacterial sonicates were added at a concentration range of 0.1 mg/ml to 100 mg/ml. Plates were blocked with 3% bovine serum albumin (BSA), washed, and anti-rabbit 35 kDa protein polyclonal antibody (1:1000) added. Binding was visualized using alkaline phosphatase conjugated anti-rabbit IgG (Sigma) and n-nitro-phenyl-phosphate (NPP) (1 mg/ml). Protein amount was determined by comparison with purified M. leprae 35 kDa protein concentration standards (Triccas et al., 1996).

Assessment of Protein Binding to Leprosy Sera by ELISA

Microtitre plates were coated with antigen (100 μg/ml to 100 mg/ml) overnight at room temperature. Plates were washed, blocked with 3% BSA, and pooled sera (diluted 1:100) added for 90 minutes at 37° C. Plates were washed, and alkaline phosphatase conjugated anti-human IgG (Sigma) added for 60 minutes at 37° C. Binding was visualized by the addition of n-nitro-phenyl-phosphate (1 mg/ml) and absorbance was measured at 405 nm.

Construction of the pJAM2 Vector and Utilization for Over-expression of the Gene Encoding the 35 kDa Antigen of M. leprae in M. smegmatis

The promoter region of the gene encoding the acetamidase of M. smegmatis NCTC 9449 permits the inducible expression of the enzyme in the presence of the substrate acetamide (Mahenthiralingam et al., 1993). In order to determine if the promoter could regulate the expression of foreign genes placed under its control, the vector pJAM2 was constructed (FIG. 2A). This plasmid contains 1.5 kb upstream of the acetamidase coding region, DNA encoding the first 6 amino acids of the acetamidase gene, three restriction enzymes sites, and the coding region for 6 histidine residues. Thus this vector should allow for the inducible expression of foreign genes cloned within it, while also permitting simple purification of the recombinant protein by virtue of the polyhistidine tag. In order to validate the system, the coding region of the M. leprae 35 kDa protein was amplified and cloned into the BamHI/XbaI sites of pJAM2 to give plasmid pJAM4. This protein is a major antigen of M. leprae and represents a promising candidate as a leprosy-specific diagnostic reagent (Triccas et al., 1996). Plasmid pJAM4 was introduced into M. smegmatis mc²155, and recombinant colonies grown in minimal media containing 2% succinate in the presence or absence of 2% acetamide. Sonicates were prepared and proteins analyzed by SDS-PAGE. As shown in FIG. 10A, a prominent band was visible at around 37 kDa in cells grown in acetamide plus succinate (lane 2), but absent from cells grown in succinate alone (lane 1). This band reacted in immunoblotting with mAb CS38, which is raised against the native M. leprae 35 kDa protein (FIG. 10B, lane 2)

Quantifying Expression of Recombinant Protein in M. smegmatis Using the pJAM2 Vector

In order to quantify the level at which the 35 kDa protein was being produced by virtue of the acetamidase promoter in M. smegmatis/pJAM4, antigen-capture ELISA was employed. As shown in FIG. 11, no protein was detected in M. smegmatis/pJAM4 grown in succinate alone. When the same strain was grown in the presence of acetamide, the 35 kDa protein represented approximately 8.6% of the total bacterial sonicate. The strength of expression was highlighted through comparison with protein levels in M. smegmatis harboring plasmid pWL19 (Winteret al., 1995), where expression of the 35 kDa protein-gene is driven by the 5-lactamase promoter of Mycobacterium fortuitum, one of the strongest mycobacterial promoters characterized to date (Timm et al., 1994; Timm et al., 1994b). While M. smegmatis/pWL19 produced high levels of 35 kDa protein, representing 7.1% of the bacterial sonicate, this was around 17% less recombinant protein than that detected in M. smegmatis/pJAM4.

Purification of Histidine-tagged Protein from Recombinant M. smegmatis

We next determined if the high-level expression by virtue of the M. smegmatis acetamidase promoter could allow efficient purification of the 35 kDa protein using the 6 histidine residues attached to its C-terminus. This system has been successfully used in a number of eucaryotic and procaryotic expression systems, and is favored due its simple and reliable purification procedure, coupled with minimal effects of the histidine tag on the target protein conformation, function, and immunogenicity (Crowe et al., 1994). Although this system had not been used in mycobacteria before, it seemed an ideal choice to allow the simple and rapid purification of structurally and immunologically intact recombinant mycobacterial proteins. Sonicates of M. smegmatis/pJAM4 grown in the presence of acetamide were added to Ni—NTA resin (Qiagen Inc., CA), the column washed consecutively with varying amounts of imidazole (5 mM, 20 mM and 40 mM) and protein eluted with 200 mM imidazole. This single-step procedure allowed 35 kDa protein of predominantly a single species to be purified (FIG. 11A, lane 3). The purified product reacted with the anti-M. leprae 35 kDa protein mAb CS38 (FIG. 10, lane 3). Therefore the strategy of Ni—NTA affinity chromatography by virtue of a polyhistidine tag can be utilized for the efficient purification of recombinant proteins from mycobacteria.

Analysis of the Effect of the Histidine Tag on Recombinant Protein Conformation and Immunogenicity

Previously it was demonstrated that recombinant forms of the M. leprae 35 kDa protein will only react with sera from leprosy patients if the protein is produced in a conformation that resembles that of the native antigen (Triccas et al., 1996). This property allowed us to test the effect, if any, of the histidine tag on the conformation of the recombinant 35 kDa protein. Three preparations of recombinant 35 kDa protein were used: the histidine-tagged version purified in this study, a nonhistidine-tagged version purified from M. smegmatis, and an E. coli 35 kDa 6-histidine fusion protein. The two latter proteins were purified as described previously (Triccas et al., 1996). The binding of pooled lepromatous leprosy sera to these three forms of the 35 kDa protein were assessed by ELISA. The sera did not react with the E. coli form of the 35 kDa protein (FIG. 12). By contrast, the 35 kDa-histidine fusion protein purified from M. smegmatis/pJAM4 was strongly recognized by the sera. Furthermore, similar reactivity was exhibited towards the same protein purified from M. smegmatis containing no additional histidine residues, suggesting that the addition of the histidine tag had no apparent effect on the conformation and indeed immunogenicity of the recombinant protein.

Induction and Over-expression of the Gene Encoding the M. Tuberculosis DES Antigen Using the pJAM2 Expression System

To demonstrate that pJAM2 can be used for the induction and expression of other genes placed within it, we cloned the gene encoding the M. tuberculosis DES antigen into the BamHI/XbaI sites of the vector, to give pJAM21. The DES antigen is an immunodominant B-cell antigen with significant sequence similarity to plant acyl-acyl carrier protein desaturases (Jackson et al, 1997). As assessed by immunoblot, no expression of the DES gene was observed in M. smegmatis alone grown in the presence or absence of acetamide (FIG. 13, lanes 1 and 2), or by M. smegmatis harboring pJAM21 (strain MYC1553) grown in the absence of acetamide (FIG. 13, lanes 3 and 5). By contrast, the DES antigen was readily detected in sonicates of MYC1553 grown in the presence of 2% acetamide (FIG. 13, lanes 4 and 6). These results indicate that high-level induction of the des gene could be achieved by use of the pJAM2 expression system.

The references cited herein are listed on the following pages and are expressly incorporated by reference.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

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1-30. (canceled) 31: A process for producing a recombinant protein in a Mycobacterium host, comprising: a) cloning a DNA sequence comprising all or part of a gene encoding a Mycobacterium protein and a tag sequence into plasmid pJAM2, b) introducing the recombinant pJAM2 obtained in a) into a Mycobacterium host, c) selecting transformed colonies of the Mycobacterium host, d) cultivating the transformed colonies to allow expression of the recombinant protein. 32: The process of claim 31, wherein the cultivating comprises cultivating in a medium supplemented with succinate 2% and acetamide. 33: The process of claim 31, further comprising lysing the cultivated cells to obtain the recombinant protein. 33: The process of claim 33, further comprising purifying the expressed recombinant protein by immunoaffinity. 34: The process of claim 31, wherein the Mycobacterium host is a Mycobacterium smegmatis strain. 35: The process of claim 31, wherein the all or part of a gene encoding a Mycobacterium protein is obtained by DNA amplification of the gene. 36: The process of claim 31, wherein the tag sequence encodes a 6-histidine tag. 37: The process of claim 31, wherein the recombinant pJAM2 is pJAM21 plasmid or pJAM4 plasmid. 